Music is community. Orchestras, Big Bands and smaller ensembles all function on a balance between individual excellence and talent, and a sense of community and responsibility. Improvisation and structure coincides with passion and rational. These elements coexist in a constant changing environment on the bandstand and on the work floor.

Through NYJW’s team building workshops, everyone will get the opportunity to experience the power of music solidifying a sense of community while connecting with their own creativity and talents. Participants will be actively engaged in a musical setting and get exposed to a variety of communication and risk taking principles. They get exposed to what it takes to set up the stage for creativity and innovation and how to capsule this into a product within a deadline.

Our facilitators are some of New York’s finest jazz musicians, and participants will get the opportunity to learn creative strategies from masters of their craft.

TEAMWORKHow does a mistake become an opportunity? What does it mean to be creative? How do ideas develop? What do you do when you do not have the answer? How do you stay innovative in a environment of deadlines? How do you generate inspiration?
Asking these kinds of questions is central to innovation. Through collaborative exercises, NYJW Teambuilding Workshops offer participants a perspective on creativity and teamwork, which leads to renewed creativity in the workplace.

LANGUAGE: “Music is the purest form of communication”Language is a tool used to communicate abstract thought; the specific words are secondary to the message they are trying to convey. Music is a form of communication that is abstract, and communicating through this medium can open up new perspectives on how we connect and what we are trying to achieve. Grammar in music consists of harmony, melody, rhythm and form. With these elements an environment is created conducive to creativity and innovation. Every team in any field of expertise balances these elements on a constant basis.

LISTENINGMusic, and jazz in particular, is built on improvisation: organizing unique voices to serve a collective goal. For a group to achieve this, it requires the ability to listen and actively engage with the other members of the group. On a constant basis Jazz-musicians redefine how they hear, how much they can pick up and how fast they can react to an ever-changing flow of sounds, shapes and colors on the bandstand. This involves fast decision-making and a great sense of responsibility. The most effective leaders aren’t the ones who dominate the stage; they are the ones who set the stage for everyone else to shine. And the most effective team members are the ones who are open to the ideas of others, which is fundamental to collaboration. This is all about listening

No Music Experience?Perfect! Everybody, regardless of training, is musical. Do you raise your vocal inflection at the end of questions? Can you hear when your car engine accelerates or decelerates? It can be easy to overlook the musical nature of the world around us, so it is eye opening for “non-musicians” to realize that they do have innate musicianship. “This shift in perspective is the goal.” By recognizing that the boxes we build (like I am tone deaf, or I am not creative…) are artificial, participants will be encouraged to think deeply about other roles they define for themselves. What does it mean to be a leader, or an analyst, or a creative?

Some of our clients:

Through our exercises that highlight the collaborative nature of music, we spark these kinds of questions. By examining these roles in a non-work context of music, groups will have an opportunity to explore these ideas as a team and develop a stronger sense of how their individual approaches mesh.